Charlotte Restaurant Week

Friday, Taylor and I ventured for our first Charlotte restaurant week date at Bonterra Dining & Wine Room in South End/Dilworth. The restaurant is a renovated 110-year-old Methodist church and the atmosphere is amazing...fine dining meets casual as the interior blends the original architectural features of the church with modern additions.

Each of us ordered three courses and shared a bottle of red. Taylor ordered: Mushroom Salad with Pistachio Vinegrette and Beet Chips (this salad is an UNREAL combination of flavors- I highly recommend getting it)! For his entree Taylor got the Braised Short Rib with Goat Cheese Gnocchi (made in house), and for dessert chocolate molten cake with raspberry compote and green tea ice cream. For my first course, I got Goat Cheese Croquettes in a pomegranate compote. For my entree, Filet Mignon on top of mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli rabe. And to top it off for dessert, White Chocolate Walnut Fudge- it was okay but 131 Main's Banana Cream Pie still takes the "cake" for most incredible dessert!

Charlotte Restaurant Week

So excited about this time of the year here in Charlotte! Great opportunity to have a 3 course meal at some of Charlotte's best restaurants for only $30/person! Charlotte Restaurant week January 20th- 29th- Enjoy! My boyfriend Taylor and I will be trying some restaurants this weekend I will Blog about our experience- Tonight's reservation is at Bonterra Dining & Wine Room :-)

For more details check out Charlotte Restaurant Week's website:riday, http://www.charlotterestaurantweek.com/restaurants.html

Crock Pot BBQ Beef Tenderloin

Raised by a professional chef (well two if you count my mom's amazing cooking but non-culinary degree) I am a passionate wino & foodie! As a 20 something, working girl with a 7 month old dog...I don't have the time or money to spend making homemade, lavish gourmet meals. But on the other hand, I like to cook and eat healthy. My solution... recipe shortcuts and a crock pot!

Today's Dish: Crock Pot BBQ Beef Tenderloin...something to spicy up your night!

• Harris Teeter's Garlic Rubbed 2 lb. Petit Beef Filet (marinated in peppercorn)- Leave the meat whole (do not cut)
• 3 minced cloves of Garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped Medium Yellow Onion
• 1 (40z) Container of Sweat Bay Rays BBQ Sauce
• 1 Tbs. Mustard
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar (I use the splenda version to cut calories)
• 1 Tbs. Ketchup
• 1 minced Chipotle Pepper and 1 Tbs.* Adobe sauce from Embasa (you can buy the Embasa Chipotle Pepper in Adobe sauce can in the mexican section of your grocery store)
• 1 Tbp. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes* (if you like spicy food!)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Recommended Sides:

• Cole Slaw
• 1lb. bag Cole Slaw Mix
• 1/2 cup Mayo (I use Smart Balance Light Mayo); if you like creamy mayo add more to your taste
• 1 Tbs. salt
• 1 Tbs. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Truvia Sugar Substitute(or Sugar)
• 1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
• King's Hawaiian roll; this sweet treat will pair well with the spicy, tangy beef flavor

Directions:

1. Heat a sauce pan on medium heat, once the pan is warm add Chipotle, Garlic, and Onion sautee for 3 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
2. Turn crock pot onto low heat setting, add BBQ sauce, Brown Sugar, Mustard, Ketchup, Adobe sauce* (if you don't like spicy food cut this to 1/2 tsp.), and red pepper flake* and stir until all ingredients are combined.
3. Stir in the sauteed garlic, onion, and chipotle pepper into the crock pot.
4. Add the beef tenderloin to the crock pot (if you want you could sear the tenderloin for 5 minutes and then add to the crock pot if you like your beef well done) otherwise add directly to the crock pot.
5. Using a spoon coat the beef with the crock pot mixture.
6. Set the crock pot timer or kitchen timer to 5 hours (or you could let the beef cook longer just make sure the crock pot setting is on low- I would recommend pulling the beef if it has set for 10 hours).
7. Stir the crock pot and the beef tenderloin occassionally.

The beef will come out moist and ready to be left in whole pieces or pulled (I prefer pulled). Cole Slaw and or broccoli-slaw  and your choice of veggie are perfect companions for this dish. And if you feel adventurous and want a sweet treat try it on a King's Hawaiian Roll. Enjoy!